Pipe organ combinations



Nov. 3, 1959 s. e. BOWMAN 2,910,907

PIPE ORGAN (IEOMBINATIONS Filed Sept. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 60' g 62,63 61 bana 4 as, I 58 i? A no vou' A.C. v v a 5 '30 I 9 8 z s' r.-.=/j//A P i5. E1

INVEN TOR. SAMUEL G. BOWMAN.

BY 6%, pawl-la, a

ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 3, 1959 s. a. BOWMAN 2,910,907

PIPE ORGAN COMBINATIONS Filed Sept. 15, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4'7 4'9 57 INVENTOR.

* SAMUEL G. BOWMAN.

BY a 7 fm d Maud. M ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent PIPE ORGAN COMBINATIONS Samuel G. Bowman, Mount Lebanon Township, Alle- Application September 15, 1955, Serial No. 534,509

4 Claims. (Cl. 84-331) My invention relates to musical instruments having keyboards or key manuals, such as electronic organs and pianos, and consists in certain new and useful improvements in apparatus for economically converting such instruments into pipe organs.

The object of the invention is to provide a particularly efiective construction of the wind-boxes and pneumatic valves of pipe organs, whereby a rank of organ pipes and a wind-box may be operatively and compactly assembled 'in a portable cabinet.

A further object to provide an auxiliary contact bar for assembly with a key manual, which contact bar has electrical contacts adapted for circuit-controlling movement in response to the pressing of the keys of the manual, whereby the combination of such contact bar with a key manual and with the elements in said portable cabinet provides at small cost an effective pipe organ-an instrument which has hitherto been beyond the economic reach of many churches, schools, theatres and homes.

A still further object is to provide in compact assembly.

in a portable cabinet a rank of pipes, a wind-box, a motor driven blower for supplying air to the wind-box, an air pressure regulator, electrically actuated air valves for the pipes, an electrical transformer, electrical contactors and relays, and an electrical rectifier, whereby the assembled pipe organ elements may be readily delivered (after the manner that a piece of furniture is normally delivered) to a church, theatre, home, or school, and plugged into a domestic 110 volt electrical supply circuit for the operation of the blower and the electrically operated valves of the pipes.

Various ranks of pipes may be provided in individual cabinets, such as diapason, English horn, flute, etc., with the efiect that an organ of any desired number of pipe ranks may be purchased oil the shelf so to speak, and apipe organ of desired pipe combination and range obtained without requiring the individual and costly field construction or assembly of organ in accordance with prior practice. I

Still other objects of my present invention will appear in the following specification. I

'The invention will be understood upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 7

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a portable cabinet including a pipe organ assembly of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view to larger scale, showing the cabinet partly in side elevation, and partly in vertical section on the plane II-II of Fig. 3, and revealingcertain features of the internal assembly of the apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view to the scale of Fig. 2, showing the cabinet partly in front elevation, and partly in vertical section on the planes III-III of Fig. 2, and illustrating further details of the internal assembly;

Fig. 4 is a diagram, illustrating certain of the electrical elements and circuits of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in vertical section of one of the electrically actuated valve tmits of the apparatus; and

2,910,907 Patented Nov. 3, 1959 ice Fig. 6 is an enlarged view in cross section of a certain contact bar illustrated in Fig. 4.

The usual pneumatic pipe organ has a wind-box or airchest, in which a supply of air is maintained under superatmospheric pressure. The pipes are mounted to stand with their air-receiving ends in position to communicate with the supply of air in the chest, and means are provided to control the flow of air :between the air-chest and the pipes. Such means comprise air passages extending between the pipes and the chest, and the flow of air through such passages is controlled by pneumatic valves that are actuated by the movable armatures of electro magnets. The valves normally stand in closed positions, and it is only when the electro-magnets are energized that the valves open and permit pipeasounding streams of air to, flow.

The electrical energizing circuits of the magnets are controlled by the keys and stops of the organ manual, whereby the pressing of a particular key of the manual closes the magnet circuit of the corresponding organ pipe, with the effect that the valve of such pipe opens, air flows from the chest, and the pipe speaks. Through proper manipulation of the keys of the manual the organ is played, causing the pipes to sound in musical order. By means of multiple relays and coupler stacks, well known to the art, the valve-controlling magnets of various combinations of pipes may be caused to respond selectively to one or more keys of the manual.

A more detailed description of pipe organs is unneccessary to an understanding of my present invention.

In accordance with prior practice the passages for the flow of air to the organ pipes and the required valveseats are carefully fashioned in the wooden Walls of the air-chest, while the valves per se are mounted internally on such walls. The electro-magnets are individually mounted on the walls of the chest, and the movable armatures of the magnets are connected severally to the valves to be actuated. This general structural organization has been used since the advent of the electrically operated val-vesin pipe organs, and needless to say such a construction is complicated and costly, entailing prolonged labor on the part of highly skilled artisans.

Of major importance to the economical manufacture and commercial feasibility of my present invention is the provision of a prefabricated or nnitarily constructed pneuperfection. All pipes of a rank and all air-passages for the pipes, valve seats, valves and magnetic valve-actuating devices may be installed in but a fraction of the time hitherto required, and a much superior assembly obtained.

Referring to Fig. 5, I illustrate in exemplary way a pneumatic control device or unit D that comprises a body 2, having a flanged top 3, that includes a seat 4 for the air-receiving end of an organ pipe 5. Organized in compact assembly with the body 2, are all air passages, valve seats, valves and valve-actuating mechanisms required to provide the playing of the pipe under the control of a key or keys and stops of an organ manual, and it is important to note that the assembled device may be installed in the air-chest 7 of an organ simply by drilling a round hole 6 in the top wall 8 of such chest, and inserting the device in the drilled hole and there securing it by means of screws 9 passed through the flanged top 3 into the substance of said chest Wall 8.

The body 2 in this case is cylindrical and open at the bottom, and the air pressure within the chest 7 prevails within the body. Beneath the seat 4 for the organ pipe a passage 10 is provided for the flow of air into the pipe, and the wall portion of the top 3 which surrounds this passage forms a ported valve seat 11 normally engaged by a valve disk 12 which blanks the fiow of air into the pipe 5.

The valve 12 is secured to a delicately'flexible diaphragm 13 hermetically mounted to form a wall of a valve-chamber 14, and the interior of this valve chamber normally communicates with the interior of the body 2, by way of a duct 15 and a ported valve seat 16 formed in a wall portion 2a of the body of the device. Thus, the air-chest pressure prevailing within body 2 is normally maintained in the valve chamber 14, where it acts upwardly on the bottom of the diaphragm 13, and it will be perceived that the same pressure normally acts downwardly on the top of the diaphragm. Due to the effective area of the passage 10, normally closed by valve 12', the aggregate effect of the valve-seating pressure that acts upwardly upon the diaphragm exceeds the valve-unseating pressure that acts downwardly on the diaphragm. A spring 17 is provided within the valve chamber, to supplement the pneumatic'pressure acting to seat the diaphragm 13.

In order to effect a flow of air into the pipe 5 the interior of the valve chamber 14 is vented to the outer atmosphere, and instantly the air-chest pressure, always prevailing within the body 2, forcesthe diaphragm 13 downwardly against the restraint of spring 17, thereby unseating the valve 12 and allowing a pipe-vibrating stream of air instantly to flow through the passage 10. The pipe speaks.

The pipe is instantly returned to silence by restoring air-chest pressure within the valve-chamber 14, such pressure acting upwardly on the diaphragm and cooperating with the spring 17 to reclose the valve 12 on its seat 11.

The means for alternately venting and charging the valve chamber comprise a pilot-valve 18 mounted on an axially reciprocable stem 19. This stem is pivotally engaged by the distal end 20 of a bell-crank lever 21 formed of moulded plastic material. The bell-crank is fulcrumed at 22 to the stationary wall portion 2a of the structure, and the distal end 23 of the bell-crank lever carries a strip of iron 24 that forms the armature of an electro-magnet 25. The magnet 25 is also mounted on wall portion 2a, and circuit wires 26 are connected in conventional way through the key contacts, relays, and coupler stacks (diagrammatically indicated at C in Fig. 4) to a source of electrical energy. Normally, the circuit to the electro-magnet is open, and normally a compression spring 27 is effective to restrain the parts in their illustrated positions, with the stem 19 arranged to hold the valve 18 closed upon a ported valve seat 28 in the wall 2b of a duct 29 that communicates through an opening 30 to the outer atmosphere. When the parts are so positioned the ported valve seat 16 is open and airchest pressure prevails in duct 15 and valve chamber 14, and the main valve 12 is held in closed position. When, however, the magnet circuit is closed, as it is from time to time during the playing of the organ, the core "31 of the magnet attracts the armature 24, and rapidly swings the bell-crank 21 in counterclockwise direction. This movement of the bell-crank 21 carries the stem 19 to the right and effects the closing of pilot valve 18 upon the ported seat 16, whereby the air-chest pressure is instantly cut-off from the valve chamber 14 and such valve chamber is simultaneously vented (via duct 15, ported valve seat 28, duct 29 and opening 30) to the outer or open atmosphere. In consequence, the main valve 12 instantly opens, air flows to the pipe 5 and the pipespeaks, and continues to speak, so long as the key on the organ manual, which was pressed to close the circuit to the magnet, remains pressed and the magnet circuit remains closed.

When the said key is released and the circuit opened, thespring 27 and the effect of gravity on the-armature 4 24 restore the parts to normal positions. As such parts instantly return to said positions, air-chest pressure is instantly restored in valve chamber 14 and the main valve 12 closed.

A cushion 32 of felt may be fixed in the position shown, to dampen and limit the rapid swing of the bell-crank lever when the magnet is energized.

The portions of the body of the device in which the valve chamber 14 and the ducts 15 and 29 are provided may, as they are here shown, be constructed separately from the body 2 proper. Such portions may be integrally formed of moulded or fabricated plastic material, and the main valve and diaphragm, the electro-magnet, the bell-crank, and the pilot valve may all be assembled before their installation in the main housing 2. Once installed, screws 33 secure the assembly, the security of assembly being fortified, if desired, by the use of a suitable plastic cement applied to the walls of duct 29, the body '2, and top '3 of the device.

An electrically operated valve unit of the general characteristics described is important, if not essential, to the economical and practical construction of a pipe organ assembly in accordance with my invention.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated a portable cabinet P that may house an assembly of the invention. The walls of the cabinet include one more or open areas A, covered by a panel F of reticulate metal or cloth, through which the sound developed by the pipe organs within may freely pass, and through which air may enter the cabinet from the outer atmosphere. Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, I provide in the bottom of the cabinet a wind-box having an upper chamber portion 34 and a lower chamber portion 35 standing in open communication at 36. The wind-box extends in this case substantially throughout the length and breadth of the cabinet, leaving withinthe back, the opposite sides and the bottom of the cabinet spaces 37 for the movement of air from above the wind-box into a chamber 38 located beneath the upper chamber portion 34' and to the front of the lower chamber portion 35 of the wind-box.

In the chamber 38 an air blower 39 is mounted, arranged to be driven by an electric motor 40, to deliver air under pipe-playing pressure, through an air duct 41, into the' wind-box. Also mounted in the chamber 38 are a transformer 42 and a rectifier 43, which are required to convert A.C. ciu'rent of usual domestic supply into electric energy of suitable characteristics for operating the pneumatic valve units D, as will presently appear.

A rank of pipes in the usual pipe organ comprises sixty-one pipes, and in the cabinet P a rank of pipes is installed, three rows of twelve relatively short pipes 5a being organized with the upper chamber portion 34 of the wind-box and two rows of twelve relatively long pipes 5b with the lower wind-box portion 35. For each organ pipe a valveunit D is installed in the Wall of the Wind-box. In the top wall of the upper wind-box portion 34 a valve unit D is provided for each organ pipe 5a, while in the top wall of the lower wind-box portion 35 a valve unit D is provided for each organ pipe 5b. The

pipes 5a and 5b provide the complete installation of organ pipes in this case.

The blower 39 draws air through the areas A from the outer atmosphere into the cabinet, and such air flows downwardly through passages 37 into the chamber 38, whence it enters the intake of the blower and is delivered through duct 41 into the wind-box, maintaining in the wind-box sufiicient air under super-atmospheric pressure to play the organ pipes. The quantity of air under superatmospheric pressure required to play the pipes 5a and 5b varies according asthe number of pipes are'brought into play, wherefore it is desirable to vary the. air delivered by the blower.

Means to this end comprise a butterfly valve 44in the air duct "41, together with means for adjusting such valve in accordance with the pressure of the air'in .the wind-box. The latter means are provided by forming the lower portion 35 of the wind-box as a bellows portion 45, having a coiled tension spring 46 tending to compress the bellows portion against the pressure of the air in the wind-box. The movable bottom wall or diaphragm 47 of the bellows portion is equipped with a rigid arm 48 (Fig. 2), and such arm is pivotally connected by a rod 49 to a crank arm, 50 integral with the axis of the butterfly valve 44 in the air duct 41. Itwill be manifest that when the pipes take a large quantity of air from the wind-box, the air pressure in the wind-box drops, with the consequence that the bottom diaphragm 47 of the bellows will rise, under the pull of spring 46, and the butterfly valve 44 will be swung counterclockwise into a more open position, thereby permitting the blower 39 to feed more air into the wind-box. In other words, as the consumption of air bythe organ pipes increases, the valve 44 is correspondingly adjusted to increase the delivery of air into the wind-box, and, on the other hand, when the consumption of air by the pipes decreases, the bellows portion 45 expands and the' diaphragm 47 swings downwardly against the restraint of spring 46, thereby moving the valve 44 towards airthrottling position. Thus, the valve 44 and the bellows portion 45, with its linkage 48, 49 and 50, operate automatically to regulate the delivery of air into the windbox in accordance with the consumption of air by the pipes 5a and 5b.

The portable pipe organ assembly in the cabinet P may be readily transported and installed in any room or space where pipe organ music is desired, and electrical connections may be established between it and an auxiliary contact bar assembled with the key board or manual of an electronic organ, or a piano, which is to be converted into a pipe organ.

In Figs. 4 and 6 an auxiliary contact bar 51 of the sort required for combination with such a key board, or manual, is fragmentarily illustrated. The contact bar comprises a body of channel shape in cross section, in this case a channel of aluminum, having an insulating strip 52 posioned as shown. This contact bar is secured in position above the keys of an electronic organ manual, or a piano keyboard. For each key 53 of the manual a vertically reciprocable plunger rod 54 of insulating material (say lucite) is provided in the contact bar. The plunger rods 54 extend slidably through the flanges of the channel shaped body (51) and strip 52, and are equipped each at its lower end with a pad 55 arranged to bear upon a key 53 of the manual which is to control the playing of the organ pipes. On each plunger rod 54 a delicately compressed coil spring 56 is mounted between the insulating strip 52 and a contact clip 57 secured to the rod. The stress of the compressed coil spring 56 on each plunger rod 54 is something less than the force of the usual devices in the key manual which maintain the keys 53 in elevated or inactive positions.

When a key 53 is depressed by the musician the corresponding plunger 54 will, under the effect of its spring 56, descend until the contact device or clip 57 carried thereby makes an electrical contact with the channel shaped conductor body 51. Thus, by grounding the body 51, as by means of a circuit wire 58, and by electrically uniting each contact device 57 with a circuit wire 59, it will be understood that the pressing of each key of the manual may be effective to close an electric circuit.

The circuit wires 59 of the several devices 57 of the auxiliary contact bar are enclosed in a flexible cable 60 (Fig. 4) that extends into the cabinet P (Fig. 1), and each of the circuit wires 59 is connected to one of the circuit wires 26 of each valve unit D, while the other of the circuit wires 26 of each valve unit is grounded, or connected through the rectifier 43 to the ground wire 58 of the contact bar. The wiring diagram of Fig. 4 illustrates the electrical connections of the assembly.

The cabinet P (Fig. 1) is provided with a plug-in device 61, by means of which connection may be made to a normal volt, A.C. domestic supply circuit. Between the supply circuit and the assembled elements extend two circuit wires 62 and 63 (Fig. 4) and in one of these wires (the wire 62 in this case) a switch 64 is included; the switch 64 may be located at the keyboard or manual, upon which the auxiliary contact bar 51 is secured, where it is readily. accessible to the organist.

When the organist desires to play the organ pipes he merely closes the switch 64, which starts the motor 40 that drives the blower 39 and fills the wind-box with air at pipe-playing pressure. Connected in parallel with the terminals of motor 40 is the primary coil of the transformer 39, while the secondary coil of the transformer is connected to the input terminals of the rectifier 43. The output terminals of the rectifier, delivering DC. current at about 12 volts, are connected in series to the ground wire 58 that connects one of the terminals 26 of each valve unit D to the body of auxiliary contact bar 51, it being noted that the illustration of the circuit for one valve unit D in Fig. 4 will suflice for all. The other terminal of each valve unit D is connected by a wire 59 to the contact device (56, 57) of the key (53) which corresponds in the musical scale with the particular organ pipe served by such valve unit. When the particular key (53) is depressed by the organist, a circuit is closed to the particular unit D, wherefore the valve therein is opened and air flows to the associate pipe, and

the pipe plays. The valve remains open and the pipe plays as long as the key is held depressed. When the key is released the plunger 54 rises and the circuit is interrupted. The valve in unit D instantly closes and the pipe becomes quiet. I

With the valve unit D of each organ pipe 5a and 5b electrically connected to a key of the keyboard or manual, it will be perceived that the musician may play the pipes. Various combinations of pipes may be caused to respond to the depressing of each key, or to a predetermined group of keys, by means of coupler stacks and stop relays, which are well known in the art. This specification need not be prolonged with a description of such known devices, it being deemed sufiicient to represent them diagrammatically at C in Fig. 4.

Many modifications and variations in the structural detail and assembly of the apparatus described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for converting into a pipe organ an instrument having a manual set of keys, including in combination a contact bar having a plurality of contact devices mounted in cooperative relation with respect to said keys and movable in response to the pressing of said keys severally between open and circuit-closing positions, a cabinet, a wind-box in said cabinet, a blower mounted in said cabinet, an air passage for the blower communicating with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, an outlet passage for the blower communicating with the interior of said wind-box, an electric motor in said cabinet connected to drive said blower for delivering air from said inlet passage and through said outlet passage under superatmospheric pressure into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted in said cabinet above said wind-box, a valve unit assembled in an orifice in the wall of said wind-box for the air-receiving end of each organ pipe, each valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the wind-box into the air-receiving end of the associate organ pipe, an electrically actuated valve in each valve unit for controlling'the pipesounding flow of air through the air-delivering passage of the valve unit, and electrically energized circuits including said key-actuated contact devices severally connected to the electrically actuated valves of said valve units; the invention herein described wherein said windbox comprises two communicating wind-box portions mounted one higher than the other, and each having some of said valve units for cooperation with the airreceiving ends of said organ pipes, and a chamber located below the higher wind-box portion and the wall of the cabinet for housing said blower and motor.

2. An apparatus :for converting into a pipe organ an instrument having a manual set of keys, including in combination a contact bar having a plurality of contact devices mounted in cooperative relation with respect to said keys and movable in response to the pressing of said keys severally between open and circuit-closing positions, a cabinet, a wind-box in said cabinet, a blower mounted in said cabinet, an air inlet passage for the blower communicating with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, an outlet passage for the blower communicating with the interior of said wind-box, an electric motor in said cab inet connected to drive said blower for delivering air from said inlet passage and through said outlet passage under superatmospheric pressure into said wind-box, a plurality of organ pipes mounted in said cabinet above said windbox, a valve unit assembled in an orifice in the wall of said wind-box for the air-receiving end of each organ pipe, each valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the wind-box into the air-receiving end of the associate organ pipe, an electrically actuated valve in each valve unit for controlling the pipe-soundingflow of air through the air-delivering passage of the valve unit, and electrically energized circuits including said keyactuated contact devices severally connected to the electrically actuated valves of said valve units; the. invention herein described wherein said wind-box comprises two communicating wind-box portions mounted one higher than the other and each having some of said valve units for cooperation with the air-receiving ends of saidrorgan pipes, a chamber located below the higher wind-box portion and between the lower wind-box portion and the wall of the cabinet for housing said blower and motor, the lower wind-box portion having below it in said cabinet a bellows portion, a regulating valve mounted for movement in one of said air passages of the blower for varying the air delivered into the wind-box in accordance with the air consumed therefrom by said organ pipes, and a linkage interconnecting the bellowslportion with said regulating valve -for automatically adjusting such valve.

7 .3. A pipe-organ assembly comprising a cabinet that houses a wind-box having two communicating wind-box portions mounted one at a higher elevation than the other, a chamber located below the higher wind-box portion and between the lower wind-box portion and the wall of said cabinet, a blower mounted in said chamber, an air inlet passage for the blower communicating with the atmosphere outside of said cabinet, an outlet passage for the blower communicating with the interior of said windbox, an electric motor in said chamber connected to drive said blower for delivering air from said inlet passage and through said outlet passage under superatmospheric pressure into said wind-box, a plurality of relatively long organ pipes mounted above said lower wind-box portion and a plurality of relatively long organ pipes mounted above said higher wind-box portion, a valve unit for each pipe assembled in an orifice in the wall of the associate wind-box portion, each valve unit including a passage through which air may flow from the associate wind-box portion into the air-receiving end of the associate organ pipe, and an electrically actuated valve in said valve unit for controlling the pipe-sounding flow of air through said passage.

4. The structure of claim 3, in which said lower windbox portion. has a bellows portion below it in said cabinet, a regulating valve mounted for movement in one of said air passages of the blower for varying the air delivered into the wind-box in accordance with the air consumed therefrom by said organ pipes, and a linkage interconnecting the bellows portion with said regulating valve for automatically adjusting such valve.

Great Britain AD. 1911 

